What is Bettona known for?

The only known Etruscan settlement east of the Tiber, with polygonal walls and tular boundary stones from the seventh century BC. Two paintings by Pietro Vannucci in the Pinacoteca: Sant'Antonio da Padova and the Madonna della Misericordia with Saints. Carries the Città dell'Olio designation; the Bettonese olive groves cover the hills sloping down toward the Chiascio valley.

Bettona is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 23 kilometers from Perugia.

Umbria · Perugia

Bettona

A hill townbetween the Topino and Chiascio rivers, the only Etruscan settlement ever built east of the Tiber.

23 km / 14 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

4,224

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Bettona sitson a hill north of the Colli Martani, looking across the cultivated plain toward Perugia. The Etruscans built here in the seventh century BC, and Bettona remains the only known Etruscan settlement east of the Tiber. Stretches of polygonal walls from that period are still visible at the base of the medieval circuit, mixed with later Roman blocks. The town became a municipium under Augustus, declined during the barbarian invasions, was sacked by Totila in 548, and rebuilt as a self-governing commune by the late twelfth century. Papal rule held from 1648 to unification. The Pinacoteca Civica, housed in the Palazzetto del Podestà on Piazza Cavour, keeps two paintings by Pietro Perugino (Sant'Antonio da Padova and Madonna della Misericordia), tabernacle panels attributed to El Greco, and Etruscan funerary stones and architectural terracottas from the territory. The olive groves below town carry the Città dell'Olio designation.

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Gallery

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Known for

Mura etrusche
Stretches of polygonal Etruscan walls visible at the base of the medieval circuit, from the seventh and sixth centuries BC.
Pinacoteca Civica
Civic art gallery in the Palazzetto del Podestà holding two Perugino paintings, tablets attributed to El Greco and Etruscan finds.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore
Main parish church on Piazza Cavour, with a reordered interior holding altarpieces and a Crocifissione fresco.
Piazza Cavour
Small central square framed by the Palazzetto del Podestà and the parish church, the social heart of the borgo.
Chiesa di San Crispolto
Romanesque church on the edge of the centro storico, dedicated to the first bishop and patron of the town.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the windows that work. The olive harvest runs from late October through November and gives the town its working rhythm, with the frantoi pressing into the evening. July and August are dry and hot; the centro storico is small enough that midday empties it. November through March is quiet. Many shops keep short hours, and on clear winter mornings the view from the walls reaches as far as Monte Subasio. The Pinacoteca opens by request out of season, which is its own kind of luxury for the visitor who manages to time it.